What a moment to produce the match of your life. Twice already this season,
Andy Murray had come close to a career-changing victory against a member of
the “Big Three”.

In the end, though, it was Stella ­McCartney’s Team GB kit that brought out his inner tiger. Like a superhero ­pulling on a cape, he found reserves of strength that few would have ­anticipated.

The man on the wrong end of Murray’s shot-making extravaganza was Novak Djokovic, the world No 2 and bronze medallist from Beijing. After going down to his contemporary and rival by a scoreline of 7-5, 7-5, ­Djokovic will have to settle for another bronze play-off tomorrow against Juan Martin Del Potro.

But the gold-medal match will be a repeat of last month’s Wimbledon final between Murray and the great Roger Federer. These men have proved themselves to be the two ­finest grass court players in the world.

Both semi-finals yesterday were extraordinary in different ways. ­Federer went first and came through a four-and-half-hour battle against Del Potro, the longest three-set match since the Open era began in 1968.

Serving second through the interminable deciding set, Federer had to draw on all his experience and character before finally taking match 3-6, 7-6, 19-17.

Then came Murray and Djokovic, and with them the most highly charged crowd that has ever been seen – or rather heard – at Wimbledon. If you thought people’s Monday was noisy, that was nothing compared to the roars and chants that resonated across the elegantly landscaped grounds of the All England Club last night.

Murray has always enjoyed a raucous atmosphere. Of course, it means the occasional hiatus when some attention-seeking moron shouts out at the wrong time. But that is a small price to play. As a passionate football fan, Murray loves the sense of partisan support, whether it is for him or against him. And yesterday the cheers were all heading one way.

“In terms of enjoyment, it’s probably the most fun I’ve had at a tennis tournament,” said Murray afterwards. “The atmosphere is different to anything I’ve experienced before. We always said that night matches at the US Open gave the best atmosphere, but they’re not even close to what it was today.

“It was one of the biggest wins of my career. I haven’t stopped smiling since I came off the court. Even afterwards, all the volunteers and staff are just so pumped, so happy. We normally just get the people on our own support team congratulating us after we’ve won a tournament. It’s so, so different at this event.”

Murray’s mindset was different too, in that he was more demonstrative on court – in a positive way – than we had ever seen him. When he held serve for 5-4 in the second set, his reaction was so intense that he appeared in danger of bursting a blood vessel.

As a chastened Djokovic put it afterwards: “The crowd gave him positive energy. He managed to use that in his favour and win the match.”

Conditions have been tricky on court for the past couple of days, both because of a strong and blustery wind and because the playing surface is nowhere near as reliable as it would be in a normal Wimbledon. The light was also fading fast towards the end of the second semi-final. And yet, that did not stop both matches being played at a breathtakingly high level.

When Murray finally arrived on court, he announced his intentions with a pair of aces in the very first game. And the aggression of his game-plan was striking from the off. Not only did he come forward to the net on several points, but he also made a habit of attacking Djokovic’s second serve from inside the court. Murray has been accused of passivity in the past – and fairly so – but he is learning to dictate his own destiny.

The two sets followed the same pattern: both players hung on to their serves, with some difficulty, until the closing stages. And then it was ­Djokovic, the iron man of tennis, who faltered first.

In the first set, Murray brought up his opportunity with a delicate drop volley and then delivered a rasping forehand pass on the very next point.

In the second set, he pressured Djokovic into a sequence of backhand errors, and then finished the job with a dipping service return that turned into a yorker as Djokovic charged the net.

Murray’s initial reaction was one of disbelief. He put his hands over his face and lay back in his chair. But as the scale of his victory sank in, his energy levels surged again and he started jumping around, throwing his wristbands into the crowd. Britain’s finest tennis player since the war has an Olympic medal. Now it remains to be seen what colour it will be.